Adding USB Type-C to the Dell Precision 3260 Compact and OptiPlex 7060 Micro

Recently we published our review of the Dell Precision 3260 Compact. Since then, folks have asked about expansion, so we did our PCIe Riser and SATA installation piece. One other complaint that came in was that the system only has one USB Type-C port (2×2) by default and three video outputs. We took a look and the GMHY5 part that also works in systems like the Dell OptiPlex 7060 Micro also works in the Precision 3260 Compact.

Adding USB Type-C to the Dell Precision 3260 Compact and 7060 Micro

After we installed the 10Gbase-T card in the expansion slot, we were left with the optional port between that and the motherboard’s Intel i219 1GbE NIC. You can see the punchout is still covering the space.

We found that part GMHY5 or 0GHY5 seemed to work. We had one of these in the parts bin from the OptiPlex 7060 Micro TinyMiniMicro piece a few years ago.

One of the two cables is a Type-C header for the USB side.

This also has alt DisplayPort mode so the other cable is for video.

We also have the USB Type-C port with only the area around the port painted black.

Here are the two ports on the Precision 3260 Compact that we need.

Installation is very straightforard. The “TYPE-C” cable connects to the TYPE-C motherboard header.

The VIDEO cable connects to the motherboard VIDEO header.

It ends up being a bit of a tangle, but this is the idea.

Two screws mount the Type-C port to the rear of the chassis.

Here is the little board installed.

We then added the 10GbE adapter and riser again. You might be able to do this without removing them, but it takes 30 seconds and makes everything easier to see.

Just for some context, here is inside the OptiPlex 7060 Micro where the video output is connected, but not the Type-C.

That is because we had a VGA port installed in that one. Still, it is fairly easy to see how the module would work in here as well.

We bought this module to add another Type-C port as it is probably more useful than a VGA port for us. Luckily, we found a use for it.

Final Words

Something we take for granted is that many of the big OEMs have these optional modules. Sadly, they are not standardized across vendors, but usually these parts are available. We have used options like the HP Flex IO V2 10Gbase-T modules to make some great Project TinyMiniMicro clusters. Still, it is worthwhile remembering that these exist since they can add a lot of functionality.